Israeli minister threatens to revoke filmmakers’ citizenship over Gaza film

Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar announced he would move to strip the citizenship of filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor after their documentary NAZA received the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. In a post on X, Zohar denounced the film as "vile," called its award "shocking," and accused the creators of committing treason by damaging the country’s reputation. He said he would act immediately to revoke their Israeli citizenship.

NAZA, an 80-minute documentary, examines allegations about Israel’s conduct in Gaza. The Venice Film Festival’s official synopsis says the film documents Israel’s use of AI-powered systems to carry out what it describes as "calculated mass killings" of Palestinians. At its Venice premiere the documentary reportedly received a 25-minute standing ovation.

The film includes on-record testimony from individuals identified as former or current Israeli military and intelligence personnel who spoke on the condition of anonymity. According to the synopsis and reporting from the festival, some interviewees describe an AI system called "Lavender" that they say was used to monitor telecommunications in Gaza and identify targets for killings.

One of the filmmakers, Yuval Abraham, said he hoped the documentary would prompt Western governments to impose economic sanctions on Israel. The minister’s threat to revoke citizenship after an internationally recognized film has drawn attention to tensions between artistic expression and national security or loyalty claims in Israel, and to the international scrutiny prompted by NAZA’s allegations.